So often it is written that it doesn't matter where you get your undergrad degree, that the emphasis on quality should be on the grad school. Last year, a girl from DD's school got EA to Stanford. At some cocktail party for new admits, the officier who reviewed her app came up and said that we know that your school prepares kids for a school like Stanford. I know a girl who was top of her class in a good high school, perfect SAT scores, bunch of APs, had legacy at Princeton and got in and failed physics the first year, had a nervous breakdown and took a year off.
Which physics course? Princeton's physics courses are listed
here. There is
PHY 101
Introductory Physics I
A course in fundamental physics that covers classical mechanics, fluid mechanics, basic thermodynamics, sounds, and waves. Meets premedical requirements. One lecture, three classes, one three-hour laboratory.
which is probably about the same difficulty as the physics courses pre-meds take elsewhere and
PHY 103
General Physics I
The physical laws that govern the motion of objects, forces, and forms of energy in mechanical systems are studied at an introductory level. Calculus-based, primarily for engineering and science students, meets premedical requirements. Some preparation in physics and calculus is desirable; calculus may be taken concurrently. One demonstration lecture, three classes, one three-hour laboratory.
which may be similar to physics courses taken by engineers at other schools and
PHY 105
Advanced Physics (Mechanics)
PHY105 is an advanced first year course in classical mechanics, taught at a more sophisticated level than PHY103. Care is taken to make the course mathematically self contained, and accessible to the motivated physics student who may not have had exposure to an introductory college level physics course. The approach of PHY105 is that of an upper-division physics course, with more emphasis on the underlying formal structure of physics than PHY103, including an introduction to modern variational methods (Lagrangian dynamics), with challenging problem sets due each week and a mini-course in Special Relativity held over reading period.
which sounds like a course that may only be offered at schools like Princeton, Harvard, and MIT.
